In order to increase the public outreach and to better reflect the work of our organisation, CFE has recently undergone a rebranding and will be known as CFE Tax Advisers Europe. The rebranding initiative is part of our strategy to increase visibility, to modernise and be more relevant to stakeholders: CFE Tax Advisers Europe, a name which is instantly recognisable and representative of nature of the organisation.

Alongside the rebranding, CFE has developed a new website, which will be the focal communication tool fit for purpose in today’s digital era. The website reflects CFE’s new visual identity and will serve as a focal communication tool for our members, partners and stakeholders. The website offers increased functionality and enhanced access to information regarding our organisation, news and events for the general public.

Further, we have completely redeveloped the European Register of Tax Advisers,which is maintained via CFE, to contain more specific information on individual advisers and their area of expertise. This will allow for enhanced visibility for tax advisers, in a modern and updated format that is far more searchable for members of the public. Tax advisers who are not registered should consider signing up to benefit from the widening of their professional network.

3.OECD: Global Forum Tax Transparency Update

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, has published 9 peer review reports which assess the compliance of a country with international tax transparency standards. The Global Forum includes 150 members, including all G20 and OECD countries, as well as international financial institutions. Estonia, France, Monaco and New Zealand were rated as being “compliant” which the standards, whilst The Bahamas, Belgium and Hungary received a rating of “largely compliant”, and Ghana “partially compliant”. A supplementary report was also issued concerning Jamaica’s progress with tax transparency standards, in which it was attributed a rating of “largely compliant”.

4.New CRS Implementation Handbook Released by OECD

The OECD has publisheda second edition of the Common Reporting Standard Implementation Handbook, which contains an overview of the Common Reporting Standards framework, aimed at members of the public and the financial sector, together with practical guidance for institutions and governments concerning implementation. The updates are centred around data protection, IT and administrative requirements, as well as concerning the identification of Controlling Persons and standards related to that issue.

Alongside this publication, the OECD has also made available a new set of bilateral exchange relationships, which have been established under the Common Reporting Standard Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CRS MCAA). There are reportedly now over 2700 bilateral relationships established worldwide which provide for the automatic exchange of offshore financial account information.

5.OECD Reports on Taxation of Personal Savings and Wealth

On 12 April the OECD will make public two reports: one on The Taxation of Personal Savings, and the second on The Role and Design of New Wealth Taxes. The first report will review taxation policy in OECD countries and key partner countries for savings vehicles, such as bank accounts, shares, pensions and housing, and present the effective tax rates of these vehicles, and the impact of these measures on savings behaviour. The second report will examine the use of wealth taxes within OECD countries and the implications of a net wealth tax on reducing inequality and revenue raising.

The release of the report will be followed by a webinar on the same day, 12 April, discussing the findings of the reports, which will be held at 14:00 GMT by David Bradbury, the head of Tax Policy and Statistics at the OECD. You can register for the webinar here.